Enchanted (Widescreen Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Enchanted (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: thin but entertaining fantasy
Summary: 3 Stars
***1/2
"Enchanted" is a fish-out-of-water tale that is also an homage to "Snow White," "Sleeping Beauty," "Mary Poppins," and countless other Disney classics that have come before it. Here, a fairy tale princess (Amy Adams) crosses over from the world of animation to the world of live-action, without losing her cheery disposition and otherworldly charm in the process.
On the day she is to be wed to her long-awaited Prince Charming, the beautiful Giselle is tossed out of the storybook kingdom of Analasia by a jealous evil queen (Susan Sarandon) who has no intention of letting some pretty little upstart usurp her throne. When Giselle finally finishes falling, she lands smack dab in the middle of a live-action Manhattan that is only a tad less immaculate and a shade less colorful than the cel-animated world she calls home. The plucky heroine is both dazzled and a bit confused by this strange looking world where the people don't seem quite as friendly or optimistic about life as the inhabitants of Analasia. Giselle is befriended by an unromantic, decidedly commitment-phobic divorce attorney (Patrick Dempsey) who doesn't know quite what to make of this odd, undoubtedly deranged creature who, when she isn't inspiring critters to help her tidy up the apartment or breaking out into full-throated, spontaneous song, is extolling the virtues of true love and declaring her undying faith in happily-ever-after endings.
Most of the fun of "Enchanted" lies in watching this almost impossibly cheerful, utterly imperturbable former cartoon character going up against the harsh realities of the real world (as harsh as the "real world" in any Disney film can be, that is), yet maintaining her sunny disposition throughout. The filmmakers have devised some spot-on parodies of the typical Disney musical number, replete with high-pitched warbling, a chorus of singing animals, and lyrics that reflect an unquenchable conviction that all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds. At times, the idea of the film is better than its execution, opting, as it often does, for silliness and strained slapstick over sophistication and wit. And sometimes, even the concept itself falls flat, as when we are left to ponder whether these creatures, with their weird behavior and exotic garb, would really be all that out of place in Times Square. And, regrettably, the filmmakers couldn't resist throwing an utterly superfluous, CGI-generated dragon into the mix at the end.
Yet, for the most part, the movie is clever, bright and beguiling, and boasts a wonderfully ditzy performance by the lovely Miss Adams that brings the whole sugarcoated confection to life. The material many be stretched a bit beyond its breaking point, but "Enchanted" casts a spell over its audience anyway.
Movie Review: A wonderful love story, a very feel good movie!
Summary: 4 Stars
My whole family loved this one! It makes you want to sing and dance and fall in love again! Great for everyone, young, old, male, female!Movie Review: Cute but.............
Summary: 4 Stars
I had not watched this movie prior to purchasing it, but based on the screen trailers, I had high hopes. Although I wasn't totally let down, I was not entirely impressed when I watched it. It was a cute movie for the 8-12 year old girl range, but a little lacking for adults. Movie Review: Charming, but boys may be bored
Summary: 3 Stars
Enchanted is a fun family film, no doubt. Not brilliant, but fun and cute.
If I were to say one thing to anyone who has yet to screen it, I would suggest that it is not necessarily a movie for boys. Some boys will surely fall in love with it, especially those who have been raised on Disney classics. But any boy who is not into this sort of thing is going to be utterly bored, and ready to snooze as all the ballgowns and cutesy animals and musical numbers go by.
I enjoyed the film, mostly because it's such a spoof of Disney fairy tales. But I cannot understand why they waited so very long to bring the evil queen into the real world; when Susan Sarandon finally shows up as a live action character, the film is nearly over. Oh, well.
I was very impressed by Rick Baker's makeup on Susan Sarandon as the hag/crone. Remarkable. It does not even look like her, but it is her. I haven't been so taken aback by fantasy makeup since Sigourney Weaver played Snow White's wicked stepmother in Snow White: A Tale of Terror (a very dark version of the story). Another fantastic hag makeup job in that film too.
All the in-jokes here are cute, and the songs aren't bad at all. You know which man the maiden is going to end up with very quickly.
I only had a few minor issues watching this, such as why the writers felt that cockroaches and a swarm of flies were needed to help clean up the apartment. Not something I would've considered.
Bottom line here-- if you're a fan of classic Disney animation, this is a fun evening's entertainment. And it looks like Disney will continue its fairy tale tradition because their future animation projects involve princesses (The Princess and the Frog, and Rapunzel).
Movie Review: Enchanting Children Moreso Than Their Mothers
Summary: 3 Stars
Little girls today don't believe in fairytales the way they did even a decade ago: they see much more commonly now that the women in their own lives closer resemble the women from Lipstick Jungle--struggling to balance work, family, friends, and romance--rather than the princesses staring out their castle windows, dreaming of the prince who will come save them from a life of gold-collar imprisonment. Nothing seems like it could ever be as picture-perfect as those brightly colored cels we remember so well from our childhood, but Director Kevin Lima tries his hardest with Enchanted, creating one part traditional fairytale (for the kids) and one part slightly sardonic chick flick (for the moms and big sisters). For both, though, Enchanted incorporates modern-day feminist theory to challenge traditional roles for princesses and real world women alike.
Living in the fictional storybook fairyland of Andalasia, Enchanted opens with Gisele (Amy Adams) throwing open her cottage window and singing alongside the birds and other woodland critters about finding her "true love's kiss"... all without an ounce of cynicsm or snark in her tone. Moments later, she is rescued Prince Charming (Edward, James Marsden) and is all set to marry him until his mother, Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) concocts a plan to send Gisele plummeting down a dark well to "a place where there is no happily ever after," read: New York City. While that is an example of one of the jokes the adult audience chuckled at but probably soared over the younger counterpart's heads, Lima's Disney-fied version of New York was not nearly gritty enough to hold up to such a label. The color palette is as bright, pristine, and chipper as Gisele herself, even in human form, where Adams' long, wavy hair and big bright eyes all scream cartoonish innocence-- in the daintiest way possible, of course. Lima creates a fantasy even in a supposed reality, especially upon meeting Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a New York lawyer so surprisingly unjaded, he allows this strange and seemingly troubled young woman into his home, even with his young daughter (Rachel Covey) sleeping in the next room. It is hard not to get lost in the magical fantasy Enchanted offers as an escape from the jaded tedium of our real world.
Enchanted is cute film that elicits quite a few chuckles, but it does bite off a little more of the apple than it can chew (to use one of the many allegorical references to past fairytales the film employs) when it tries to marry (pun intended) the characters from the two worlds. Suddenly Lima seems to rely on the pure hope that his core demographic will be too young to question his fuzzy logic of how some characters mature and evolve (such as Gisele learning what real dating is and questioning what she wants for her life) and others do exactly the opposite, ultimately throwing away everything they have ever worked for (like the underused Idina Menzel's Nancy), and muddling the attempt at the female empowerment message.
Years ago, true love would have been enough to defeat the Queen's nefarious plans, but today's audiences tend to look for additional twists as they near the end of a film. Lima delivered on such expectations with a rushed remembrance of what makes the Disney villains so classic: they need to scare the children to the point of closing their eyes in their movie theatre seats. Enchanted had been so focused on Gisele's journey and the romantic-comedy aspect of the story, that Narissa only popped up occasionally, in makeshift mirror reflections, and in order to suddenly blow her persona up to larger-than-life status, he did so quite literally with a CGI creature that unfortunately was much lamer than what today's youth is used to seeing. It was an admirable attempt, but if anyone closed their eyes at that sight, it was out of embarrassment.
Some may remember the very early trailer for Enchanted that played before Disney's summer blockbuster Pirate's of the Caribbean: At World's End: it featured a brief but more sinister glimpse of Menzel's Nancy, as if alluding to a subplot and subsequent underlying message that if Robert actually went through with the marriage, she, too, would turn into an Evil Stepmother. When Enchanted was released theatrically in November 2007, though, Menzel's role seemed considerably scaled down, as she appeared as barely a supporting player--wasting her classic theatre talent in a musical that doesn't even allow her to sing. The hope was that the DVD would offer deleted scenes that showcased Menzel's powerhouse vocals... but it looks like in order to get any of (if they even do exist), we'll have to wait for the obligatory Two-Disc Collector's Edition that Disney releases from their fictional vaults to mark their films' anniversaries.
In fact, the studio must be waiting for an anniversary edition to give us the goods because this release meagerly offers six deleted scenes, introduced by Lima, including an extended opening done in storyboard form because the idea was scrapped long before they started animating. "Fantasy Comes to Life" is your standard "Making Of" for the musical numbers (namely "Happy Working Song," That's How You Know," and "A Blast At The Ball") and what went into putting them together. The most interesting there is of course "Happy Working Song," which delves into which parts of the number was done with live animals (and how) and which were purely CGI. There is also a quick blooper reel, the "Ever Ever After" music video, and an interactive game featuring Andalasia (and subsequently New York)'s unofficial mascot Pip. The game is a little sophomoric even for Enchanted's young fans, considering the movie asks for a savvier, slightly more mature audience. If you buy the Blu-Ray version, though, there is an extra bonus featurette that looks at the film's subtle (and some not-so) references to past Disney films, including cameos by the actresses behind Ariel, Belle, and Pocohontas.
Enchanted is one of those movies that will be enjoyed by both kids and adults-- perhaps on different levels and for different reasons-- but the movie really seems to be made for the generation that grew up with such classic Disney fairytales as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast--a generation that is now decades more mature and therefore able to poke fun at the very idealistic, very na?ve beliefs of their childhood... all while still managing to hold onto a little bit of those optimistic hopes.